Mer opened his eyes and looked around in a bit of a daze. He couldn't see the sky and the sound of the ocean was nonexistent. A sudden panic went through him and he sat up quickly, looking around in fear. He felt the blanket he had been covered with slide off of him and he freaked out, falling off the couch and hitting the coffee table. His fin knocked over the centerpiece, causing a loud clang. Oscar came rushing out of the kitchen to find Mer holding his head on the floor.

"Are you alright?!" he yelled, running over to help his friend.

Seeing Oscar, Mer relaxed a little but was still wary. He took Oscar's outstretched hand and sat up on the ground. He looked around and gave Oscar a puzzled look.

"Oh, this is our beach house. We live in the city that's really far away from the ocean and so we come here so we can be on the beach. Do you like it?"

Mer looked around and lifted his lip a little. He had never been inside of a 'beach house' so he didn't really have any type of opinion. There was a lot of stuff that he didn't know what it was... For a home it seemed cluttered, so he just shrugged. What did his opinion matter anyway?

Oscar smiled and sat on the couch. "I guess it doesn't really matter if you like it or not, huh?" Mer looked back at him. "My parents bought a bunch of this stuff before my mom died, so we put it up as best as we could. My mom was a good designer but Dad's not the best."

Mer was about to try to ask what happened to Oscar's mother when Isaiah walked out of the kitchen.

"Are you alright? I heard a lot of commotion a minute ago."

Mer pointed to the coffee table accusatorily. Isaiah chuckled.

"I see. Hit your head on the coffee table." Mer nodded. "That happens more often than you'd think. Are you hungry?" Mer nodded. "So... I have an odd question for you: do merfolk eat fish?"

Mer got this look of alarm on his face and seemed genuinely insulted but then he smirked and gave a thumbs up. Isaiah had to laugh.

"You got me. I thought I insulted you." Mer smiled. "So, is it raw or cooked?"

Mer turned his head. He didn't know what cooked was.

"How about I give you both and you can tell me which one tastes better."

Mer nodded and Isaiah left the room. Oscar stood up and held out his hand again.

"I'll help you back onto the couch. It's hard on the floor."

Mer wasn't sure what a 'couch' was, but if it was the fluffy thing he had been on early then he was sure he could get back on it himself. He turned and put his claws it he fabric, but he was having a tough time still getting a good grip on it. Oscar pulled back his hand and just watch Mer struggle to get back on the couch. He wasn't sure why Mer didn't let him help him, but he figured it was a matter of principal on the merman's part. Finally, after what seemed like a longer time than necessary, Mer turned around on the couch, panting.

Oscar clapped. "You did it. Way to go."

Mer rolled his eyes when he spotted something shiny on Oscar's wrist. The light glinted off of the plain silver bracelet and Mer's pupils seem to widen at the shiny object. Oscar was confused as to why he seemed so fixated on his hand when he looked down at it.

"You like my bracelet?" Mer looked up at him and nodded. "It was a gift from my mom. It was the last thing she gave me."

Mer's ears flared a little and then he moved his mouth. He looked like he wanted to say something... Mer pat his chest where his heart was, a questioning look on his face.

"I don't know what you're asking." Oscar said with a laugh.

Mer pointed to his wrist and then pat his heart again. Oscar still wasn't sure what he meant.

"I wish you could write." Mer turned his head. "Writing? You know, you take a pen and make words."

Mer's eyes brightened and he nodded, doing the universal sign for writing. Oscar got excited too.

"You can write?!" Mer nodded. "Great, awesome! I'll go get a pen!"

He ran off as Isaiah walked back in, holding the plates above Oscar as he ran past him. He shook his head and set the two plates down on the coffee table.

"Here, I'll let you taste some of the cooked fish. See if you like it."

He held out the plate for Mer, who looked at it with a weird face. He took a small piece of the cooked fish and ate it. He grimaced at the taste and stuck out his tongue.

Isaiah chuckled. "I had a feeling you wouldn't like it. I got plenty of raw fish for you, bud."

As he left to go get the raw fish, Oscar ran back in with a notebook and pen. He ran over to Mer and shoved the supplies into his hands.

"So what's your real name?! Can you write it? Is there a way? I don't wanna call you Mer if that's not your name."

Mer looked at the pen and paper and opened the notebook. He started writing and Oscar just couldn't keep his excitement down. Being able to communicate better with Mer was just too good. Mer handed the notebook back and Oscar looked, frowning.

"What kind of writing is this?" Mer held out his hand, inviting him to read. "I've never seen this writing before." Mer looked sad as Oscar sighed. "Dang... I thought we were going to be able to talk to each other."

"Maybe you can check out a sign language book from the library." Isaiah said, bringing the other fish in for Mer. "They should have some beginner signs to help bridge the gap. And you could also teach him our alphabet and maybe he can teach you his."

Isaiah set the plate with the raw fish down on the coffee table. Seeing the food available, Mer reached out and grabbed the raw fish quickly, shoving it in his mouth and launching himself over the couch, whacking Oscar in the face with his fan. Oscar cried out in pain (since it felt like a slap from a pro-wrestler) and covered his face. Isaiah jumped up in surprise and looked over the couch as Mer tore into the fish with both hands, guarding his food with his body. Isaiah turned back to Oscar and sat next to him, touching his hands.

"Here, let me see..."

Oscar let his father move his hands and looked up at him, trembling a little. There were a few scratches and his right cheek was swollen as well as his eye.

"Do you feel like you got a scratch in your eye?"

"N-no..." he said, trying not to cry.

Isaiah knew what it felt like to get punched in the face (he had been in many a fight when he was younger) and with the sound that came from the contact, he could tell the strength of the hit wasn't just a little smack. Oscar was trying not to be upset or angry, but it hurt so bad! He finally couldn't keep the tears from falling as he sniffled.

Isaiah smiled. "It's okay, Oz, you can cry. I can tell that really hurt."

"It really did!" he finally wailed, looking almost crestfallen.

Hearing Oscar yelling, Mer looked over his shoulder and then pulled himself up over the back of the couch to see what was happening. Seeing Oscar crying, Mer furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. Did I steal his food? Mer thought. Mer went back to the floor and grabbed the half-eaten fish, pulling himself back up. He gave a small gurgle, making Isaiah look at him. He held out the fish, looking at Oscar, the fish, and then Isaiah.

"No, he doesn't want the fish, but thank you."

Mer looked confused and pulled himself up further to look at Oscar. Isaiah moved back to allow Mer to process what was happening. He seemed concerned but he didn't know what happened, obviously. Isaiah was still starstruck with the presence of a real live merman only inches from him after catering to his wife's fantasies but never really believing her. You would be in complete heaven right now, honey. he thought.

Oscar finally calmed down and wiped his eyes, suddenly finding Mer in his face. He gasped, leaning back.

"You scared me." Mer held up the fish again. "That's a fish." He motioned for him to have it. "I don't want it, that's yours."

Mer was so confused. Didn't I steal his food? I was just so hungry... he thought and then tried again.

"I don't want your fish, Mer."

Mer got mad and threw the fish instead. Now Oscar was confused.

"Why are you angry? You're the one who hit me in the face." Mer's eyes widened in surprise. "When you jumped over the couch, your tail hit me in the face and it really hurt. Why'd you do that?"

Mer slid himself down from the back of the couch, wedging between Oscar and Isaiah. He leaned in to look at Oscar's face and saw where the small spines of his fin had scratched him and his face was swollen. He kept leaning into Oscar, getting closer and closer to his face and finally put his forehead on Oscar's. Oscar was completely still, not sure what was happening. Mer made a chirping noise that ended in something like a purr. He then moved back, looking down at his hands.

"What... just happened?" Oscar asked.

"I think he was saying he was sorry." Mer looked at Isaiah. "Were you apologizing?" Mer nodded.

"Oh... um... it's okay. It just surprised me and your tail is really strong."

Mer kept looking down, seeming ashamed, so Oscar sat up and leaned into Mer, touching his forehead to his.

"It's okay. It was an accident."

Mer's eyes lit up, happy that Oscar wasn't angry with him.

Isaiah was amazed at how his son seemed to be so in tune with Mer, even though they only met the day before. Mer trusted him to come back and Oscar was open to learning about Mer and his culture.

"I think you two may have a natural connection." The boys looked at him. "Being friends means forgiveness when one has done wrong but they have apologized, even when it may not be easy to understand. You have a lot of barriers between you and yet you seem to understand well enough. That makes a true friend."

Oscar smiled and looked at Mer. "You wanna be my friend, Mer?"

Mer let out a squeal kind of like a dolphin with a huge smile. They laughed as they continued with breakfast.

**********************

After breakfast, Isaiah carried Mer back to the ocean with Oscar in tow since Mer seemed like he was getting sluggish the longer he was out of the water. Isaiah waded into the ocean and put Mer in the water. He jumped out of his arms and swam away. Isaiah walked back to the shore and touched Oscar on the shoulder.

"Did he swim away?" he asked his dad.

"Yeah..."

"Oh... I thought he was gonna stay."

"He has had a hook stuck in his fin for a while, he hasn't been able to eat, and he was plucked out of the water for a few hours. I'm sure he needs to stretch his fin for a minute and get some energy. I wouldn't worry about him right now, son."

"Do you think he'll come back?"

"I think so."

"Can you take me to the library? I wanna get a sign language book and maybe some kid's books to teach him how to read and write... if he comes back."

"We're going into town later, so we can stop by the library then."

Oscar nodded, hoping Mer would come back.

******************

**UNDER THE SEA**

Mer tried not to look the older merman in the eye as he went off on him. He knew he was going to get in trouble for even thinking about going to the surface, but what was he supposed to do? Oscar was a nice human and even his father was nice. They pulled the hook out of his fin and even fed him. Not all humans were bad...

The older merman grabbed Mer's face to make him look at him and he glared.

"Did you hear what I said?" the gruff merman's voice growled. Mer shrugged in indifference. "Were you even paying attention to me?"

Mer shook his head no.

The older merman gave him a perturbed look as Mer crossed his arms. The merman said Mer's real name but Mer shook his head.

"Why are you shaking your head?" Mer kept shaking his head. "Stop. Why are you doing that?"

He kept shaking his head and the older merman grabbed his shoulders, trying to get him to stop.

"Stop! Focus. What are you trying to say? Why are you shaking your head? Is it because of your name?" He nodded. "What's wrong with it?" He shook his head again. "Do you... not like it?" He nodded. "Then what am I to call you?"

Mer grabbed his hand and wrote 'MER' in his hand in their language.

"Mer?" He nodded. "What's a Mer? Is that what the human is calling you since he can't speak our language?" He nodded again.

The elder sighed, looking at Mer in confusion.

"If I don't call you this... "Mer", will you not answer me?" Mer crossed his arms and shook his head. The elder huffed. "Fine, if that's what you wish... That being said, you cannot go back to the surface."

Mer glared at him.

"Don't get angry with me, guppy. Did you not just have a hook through your fin? Where do you think that came from?"

Mer motioned for a pen and kelp parchment and the elder got it for him.

How did you find out I went to the surface?

"I am an elder, I have people all around."

The humans were nice.

"Those humans were nice. They don't stay there all the time. It's called a "vacation home" which means the humans change every week or every month. They may not even be there if you went back and then all you're doing is putting yourself at risk."

They said they bought it. It is theirs.

"It doesn't matter if it is theirs or not... Mer. It just means that they are there at the moment. Humans don't stay in those homes for very long. Even if they come back, it will be a while before they do so. In the meantime, you could run into other humans who aren't very nice."

Mer turned away, not liking to hear that, but he knew Oscar would be there if he went back. He had to be... Oscar would tell him if he were leaving, right? He seemed the type... Even if they did leave, Mer would just make sure he didn't go to the surface until they came back. How he would detect that, he didn't know. He just knew he would do that.

"Are you listening to me?" the elder growled, touching Mer's shoulder.

Mer pulled away angrily, glaring at the elder. He clenched his fists and swam away.

Ever since his family died, Mer felt like no one seemed to really care about him as an individual. No one really paid much attention to him unless it was to yell at him about not talking after everything that happened or if he was doing something wrong. Why he even felt like he needed to report back to his people, the Raskaana, about what had happened (as if people missed him) was beyond him. He thought he'd be missed and didn't want anyone to worry, but it turned out the only thing anyone was worried about was humans discovering merfolk, not that Mer had been hurt. It felt like Oscar and Isaiah had cared more about his wellbeing than his own people. Why would he want to give that up?

********************

Oscar put his books up on the counter for the librarian to look over. She noticed most of them were sign language books.

"You learning sign language, honey?"

"Uh huh. It's for me and my friend."

"Aw, that's so sweet." She started scanning the books when she saw a mermaid encyclopedia in between them. "Oh, it looks like you got this one by mistake." she said, holding up the book.

"No, I got it on purpose."

"Oh, okay. I was just making sure since it was in between all these other books."

Oscar nodded, rocking back and forth. Once they were all scanned, the librarian handed him his card and then put the books in a cloth bag.

"I'll give you one of our bags so that you don't drop them. I'm supposed to charge a dollar for it but I'll give one to you free. Don't tell anyone." She said with a wink.

Oscar smiled and nodded, taking the bag of books and going outside. He didn't see Isaiah and texted him to see where he was. He told him he was at the market across from the library and to just sit at the tables outside to meet him. Oscar found a table and started pulling out his books. He found the mermaid encyclopedia and started looking through it.

"Oh my god, you're right. Look at this loser."

Oscar wasn't really paying attention until someone's hand shoved the book down from him reading it and he looked up.

"Why are you reading a mermaid book?"

"Because... I can?" Oscar asked, genuinely confused.

There was a boy a little older than him staring at him with a smug look on his face. Oscar has no idea who he was and was confused as to why he acted like he knew him.

"Why would you want to read a girly book like that?"

Oscar looked at the book and then back at the boy.

"It's an encyclopedia..."

"About mermaids!" the other boy standing beside the older one said, pointing accusatorily at it.

"And?"

"Mermaids are for girls. Are you really a girl?" the older boy asked.

"No... I just wanted to know. Is it wrong to want to know about things you want to understand?"

"What a dork!" the boy said, laughing his head off with his friend.

Oscar was very confused. The older boy knelt down and put his arm around Oscar's shoulders.

"What's your name?"

"Oscar..."

"Ugh, even your name is dumb."

"What's your name?" Oscar asked, getting a little annoyed.

"Name's Trent and this guy back here is Jeffrey."

"Okay, good to know..."

"So now that we are acquainted, that makes us friends, right?"

"Um..."

"Yeah, and friends share stuff with other friends. So, how about you give us some money so we can go buy some ice cream."

"I don't have any money."

"You got these fancy books. You must have bought them."

"Noooo... I got them from the library... You know, this big building behind me that lets you borrow books?" Trent made a face. "I feel like you've never been in one of those."

Trent's expression turned dark. "You trying to say I'm not smart?"

"If you can't see that this is a library book, then yeah."

Jeffrey made an 'ooh' sound behind Trent and Trent stood back up, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You picked the wrong person to mess with."

"Oscar?"

The boys looked over and saw Isaiah walking over with grocery bags in his hands. Seeing the new children, Isaiah smiled at them.

"Hello, and who might you be?"

"I'm Trent and this is Jeffrey."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Oscar's father, Isaiah. Were you wanting to hang out with Oscar?"

Oscar froze. Oh no! My dad thinks they're trying to be my friends! Oscar tried to alert his father of the danger, but Trent smiled.

"Yeah, that'd be totally cool if we could play with him. Did you guys just move here?"

"We own a beach house by the ocean. We're only here for the summer."

"That's so cool, Mr. Isaiah! Would it be okay if me and Trent hung out with Oscar?!"

Oscar started shaking his head but Isaiah didn't see it.

"Sure, if it's alright with your parents. Are they around?"

"My dad owns a shop down the road. We can ask him." Jeffrey said. "Trent is staying with me cuz his mom has to work and stuff."

"Well, if he says it's alright, I don't mind."

"Lemme call him!"

Jeffrey whipped out his phone as Isaiah sat in the other chair across from Oscar. He looked over at his son, pleased he had helped manage a meet up, when he saw the look of horror in Oscar's eyes.

"Oz?" He looked at his dad. "Were they... not trying to be your friends?"

"Um..." Trent looked back and gave him a glare that basically said, 'Tell him anything and I'll pummel you'. Oscar smiled a little and turned back to his dad. "No, um... they're fine."

Isaiah was about to say something else when Jeffrey handed him his phone to talk to his father. Everything was already in place and he couldn't take it back now. Lucky for them both, Jeffrey's father wasn't going to let them go to some random person's house and even when Jeffrey got Isaiah to speak with him, he still said that he wanted to meet them before setting anything up. Isaiah agreed and had to set up a future date out of slight obligation and courtesy. He handed the phone back to Jeffrey.

"Unfortunately, your father said no to this time, but he said he would like to meet us and get acquainted so that you could become friends." Isaiah said.

"Aw man, we really wanted to hang out. Oh well... I'm sure our dads will meet up and end up being friends so we can be friends."

Oscar gave a half-hearted smile as Isaiah touched his shoulder.

"We should be going now. It was nice to meet you both."

They headed to the car and got in. Isaiah turned it on and looked over at Oscar.

"I seem to have made a situation worse."

"They were trying to be all tough... It's not like you would have known."

"After we meet up, if you don't want to be their friend, you don't have to. I felt a little bad for that kid's father who was roped into this."

"It's okay, Dad, really. I can handle it."

Isaiah nodded and they went back home.